Sealing apparatus for cartons



Jan. 31, 1933. F Y 1,895,617

SEALING APPARATUS FOR CARTONS Filed July 6. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan.31,

1933. w, FAY 1,895,617

SEALING APPARATUS FOR CARTONS Filed July- 6) 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jake9k W? CZzM $WYTM 15 Sheets-Sheet 3 Zia/anion: \fose p/z WI J. W. FAY

Filed July 6, 1931 SEALING APPARATUS FOR GARTONS Jan. '31, 1933.

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Patented Jan. 31, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH w. FAY,OFVILLA PARK, rLLIIroIs, assieivon'ro THE CRACKER JACK 00., or CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, A con-rename or ILLINOIS SEALING APPARATUS FOR CARTONSApplication filed J'ulypG, 1931. Serial No. 548,893.

This invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for sealingcartons against the efiects of atmospheric or other moisture on thecontents of the carton.

Many edible products are packaged and marketed in cartons, and, in thecases of products peculiarly sensitive to atmospheric moisture, such,for instance, as pop corn confections, it has been the practice to wrapeach carton in a sheet of waxed paper, pressing the folds of the papertogether with a heated iron to make them adhere. This, however, does notcompletely seal the carton, especially at the ends of the latter wherethere are multiple overlapping folds of the paper, and several meanshave heretofore been proposed for sealing the folded ends of thewrapping sheet on the carton so to effectively prevent the penetrationof moisture therethrough.

The most eiiicient method of sealing the ends thus far known is to dipthe ends of the wrapped carton in a body of melted wax or like sealingmaterial, thus permitting the latter to flow into and close the cracksand joints of the folded wrapper, the carton being dipped sufiicientlydeep to deposit a film of wax not only on the end wall, but on the endportions of the top, bottom and side walls. \Vhere such dipping is doneby hand, the work is slow and the cost is high. 7

Another method of sealing has been to subject each end of the carton, asit is carried on a conveyor, to a falling stream or cascade of liquidwax in the form of a sheet of suflicient width to wipe over the entireend wall and end corners of the wrapped carton. This is only partlyefiicient since the period of contact of the continuously flowing streamof wax with the carton is so short that a perfect closure of the cracksand joints of the folded wrapper on the end wall is not secured.

The device of my present invention may be said to involve a combinationof the two methods above outlined, whereby I obtain the efliciency ofthe dipping method and the economy and speed of operation of the cascademethod.

An apparatus embodying. in one practical in which- I Fig. 1 1s a topplan view.

Fig. 2 is a perspective elevation of a. wrapped and sealed cartontreated by the.

apparatus. 7 V

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end portion of thesealed carton as seen from beneath. r

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the offset line 4-401:Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the offset line 55 ofFig.7.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 7,and showing on a larger scale than in Fig. 4, the structure that appliesthe coating film 01' seal to the end wall.

. Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section taken on the line77 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is ahorizontal longitudinal section taken on the offset line 88of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section taken in the planeof the line 9'9 of Fig. .5.

Referring to the drawings, at 10 I have indicated a fragment of ahorizontal endless conveyor by which the wrapped cartons C disposedtransversely on the conveyor are carried through the field of operationof the sealing device. On either side of the, cons veyor are stationaryangle bar supports 11 on which are mounted vertical legs 12 (Fig. 5)supporting a main tank 13 that contains liquid sealing medium, such asmelted Wax. Below and at one side of the main tank. 13 are mounted onthe supports 11 a pair of auxiliary tanks 14; laterally adjacent to thesides of the conveyor 10. Overflow pipes 15 conduct the sealing mediumfrom the main tank 13 into the auxiliary tanks 14. Since thesealapplying equipment associated with the auxiliary tanks 14 is thesame on, both.

sides, a description of one will suflice for both, the same referencenumerals being used to identify similar parts on both sides. I

Referring more particularly to Figs. 4: and 6, in the side wall. of thetank 14: that is nearest the conveyor is formed a discharge or overflowopening 16,. and in the outer side of the same wall directly below theopening 16 is formed a shallow recess 17 of slightly less height thanthe height of an end wall of the carton, and formed with bottom and endwalls and an open side. Attached to the same Wall of the tank 14, belowthe recess 17, is a ledge 18 (see Figs. 7 and '8) and similarly attachedto the said wall above the recess 17 is a strip 19. This strip 19 is cutaway in its upper edge to form a shallow basin 20 opposite to and ofsomewhat greater width than the discharge opening 16; and the bottom ofsaid basin communicates, through a restricted flow passage 21, with theupper end of the recess 17. As shown in Fig. 7, the receiving end of theledge 18 is downwardly curved at 18 so that the bottom wall of thecarton C is guided onto the ledge 18 and into sliding contact at its topwall with the lower edge of the strip 19 so that, as it travels past theopen side of the recess 17 it practically closes the latter. The basin20 is maintained nearly full. of sealing liquid by overflow through thedischarge opening 16, and this liquid, flowing down through the passage21, maintains the underlying recess 17 practically full of liquid byreason of the recess closing effect of the end walls of the cartonswhich suc} cessively pass the recess in close order. As a consequence ofthis construction, the down flowing body of sealing liquid, instead ofrapidly wiping over the end of the carton, is retarded in its flowsufficiently to allow the mobile liquid to enter and fill the cracks andjoints in the end folds of the wrapper and deposit a continuous andunbroken film of wax on the end wall. One function of the ledge bar 18,however, is'to deposit a narrow strip or film a of wax on the endportion of the bottom wall; and to insure this, an escape flow of aportion of the sealing liquid in the recess 17 onto the ledge 18 isprovided for by slightly inclining the outer face of the wall in whichthe recess 17 is formed, as shown at 17 in Fig. 6, so that at each endof the recess there is a narrow outflow passage or crack 22 for theliquid to escape and run down onto and coat the ledge 18.

I have also provided an auxiliary device by which narrow films of wax,similar to the film a, are applied to the end portions of the top andside walls of the carton.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 5, 7 and 9, attached to a boss23 onthe bottom wall of the main tank 13 as by machine screws 24 is anattachmentplate 25, integral with the lower side'of which is a forwardlyand rearwardly extending block 26 that in practice may consist of anextension of the strip 19, and is drilled to provide a central verticalduct 27 (Fig. 9) communicating with the tank 13 through an inserted pipesection 28, and a pair of oppositely inclined branch ducts 29 and 30-,the outer ends of which are fitted with jet discharge pipes or nozzles31 and 32, respectively. As best shown in Fig. 5, the nozzles 31 and 32are disposed slightly above the path of travel of the top wall of thecarton, in a position to discharge streams of sealing liquid onto theend portions of the top and side walls as the carton travels beneath thenozzles. The direction of travel being that indicated by the arrow inFigs. 1, 7 and 9. As the end of the carton approaches the nozzle 32, ajet of sealing liquid is discharged against the advancing side wall ofthe carton laying a narrow film b (Fig. 3) thereon. As the cartoncontinues to travel past the nozzle, the nozzles 32 and 31 successivelydeposit narrow films, indicated at c (Fig. 2) on the top wall of thecarton; and as the carton leaves the nozzle 31, the latter deposits anarrow film d (Fig. 3) on the trailing side wall of the carton. Thus notonly the folded portions of the wrapper on the end wall are sealed, butthe seal extends over the corner edges and onto the top, bottom and sidewalls, thus producing a shallow cap-like wax closure on each end of thecarton. The two end sealing devices being located directly opposite eachother, as shown in Fig. 1, the sealing of the two ends takes placesimultaneously. A guard strip 34 attached to the outer face of the block26 has its lower edge in sliding contact with the top wall of the cartonand thus roughly defines and limits the width of the sealing films b, 0and d, the bottom sealing film a being defined by the ledge 18.

Underlying the two sealing appliances and that portion of the conveyorlying between them, is a sump 35 (Fig. A) into which the excess ofsealing liquid flows, and this excess is returned by a pump (not shown)through a pipe 36 back into the main tank 13 sufiicient sealingliquid'being added from time to time to make up for that used on thecartons and thus maintain the volume of the working body of liquidsubstantially constant.

Practical experience with a sealing machine from which the presentdrawings were made, has demonstrated that the cartons are sealed therebywith an efliciency fully equalling that of the old and more expensiveand cumberous method of dipping, and with remarkable celerity ofoperation. Of course, structural details of the apparatus may be widelyvaried from those herein shown and described, and I do not limit theinvention to such details except to the extent clearly indicated inspecific claims.

I claim:

1 1. In a sealing apparatus of the character described, the combinationof a conveyor for cartons, a tank for containing a liquid sealingmedium, a wall disposed in laterally adjacent relation to said conveyor,said wall being formed in the side thereof adjacent to saidconveyor witha shallow recess having bottom and end walls and an open side which openside is adapted to be passed over and substantially closed by the endwalls of cartons traveling on said conveyor, and means for directing aflow of the sealing medium from said tank to said recess.

2. In a sealing apparatus of the character described. the combination ofa conveyor for cartons. a tank for containing a liquid sealing medium, awall disposed in laterally adjacent relation to said conveyor, said wallbeing formed in the side thereof adjacent to said conveyor with ashallow recess having bottom and end Iwalls and an open side, means fordirecting a flow of the sealing medium from said tank to said recess,and means for guiding the end of a carton past the open side of saidrecess in substantially sliding contact with said wall.

3. In sealing apparatus of the character described, the combination of aconveyor for cartons, a tank for containing a liquid sealing medium inlaterally adjacent relation to said conveyor, a wall of said tank beingformed in the side thereof adjacent to said conveyor with a shallowrecess having bot tom and end walls and an open side, which open side isadapted to be passed over and substantially closed by the end walls ofcartons traveling on said conveyoiyand means for directing a flow of thesealing medium from said tank into tl e upper end of said recess.

a. In sealing apparatus of the character described, the combination of aconveyor for cartons, a tank for containing a liquid sealing medium inlaterally adjacent relation to said conveyor and formed with a dischargeopening in the wall thereof adjacent to said conveyor, said wall havinga shallow recess formed with bottom and end walls and an open side belowand communicating with said discharge opening, and means for guiding theend of a carton past the open side of said recess.

In sealing apparatus of the character described, the combination of aconveyor for cartons, a tank for containing a liquid sealing mediumlocated laterally opposite said conveyor and formed with an overflowopening in the wall thereof adjacent to said conveyor, said wall havinga shallow recess formed with bottom and end walls and an open side belowand communicating with said overflow opening, a ledge on said wall belowsaid r cess, and a strip on said wall above said recess, said ledge andstrip overlapping the end portions of the bottom and top walls of acarton as an end wall of the latter travels across the open side of saidrecess.

6. In a sealing apparatus of the character described, the combination ofa conveyor for cartons, a tank for containin the liquid sealing mediumlocated laterally opposite said conveyor and formed with an overflowopening in the wall thereof adj acent to said conveyor, said wall havinga shallow recess formed with bottom and end Walls and an open side belowand communicating with said over-flow opening, and the outer face of theportion of said wall containing said recess being slightly inclined fromthe vertical, a ledge on said wall below said recess, and a strip onsaid wall above said recess formed with a flow passage for the liquidfrom said over-flow opening to the top of said recess, said ledge andstrip overlapping the end portions of the bottom and top walls of acarton as an end wall of the latter travels across the open side of saidrecess.

- 7 In a sealing apparatus of the character described, the combinationof a conveyor for cartons, a tank for-containing a liquid sealingmedium, a wall disposed in laterally adjacent relation to said conveyor,said wall being formed in the side thereof adjacent to said conveyorwith a shallow recess having bottom and end walls and an open side,which open side is adapted to be passed over and substantially closed bythe end walls of cartons traveling on said conveyor, means for directinga flow of the sealing medium from said tank to said recess, and meansfor directing the sealing medium against an end portion of the top andside walls of the cartons.

' 8. In a sealing apparatus of the character described, the combinationof a conveyor for cartons, a tank for containing a liquid sealingmedium, a wall disposed in laterally adj acent relation to saidconveyor, said wall be ing formed in the side thereof adjacent to saidconveyor with a shallow recess having bottom and end walls and an openside, which open side is adapted to be passed over and substantiallyclosed by the end wallsof cartons traveling on said conveyor, means fordirecting a flow of the sealing medium from said tank to said recess,and a pair of oppositely inclined pipes communicating with said tank andsuitably located to direct jets of sealing medium against an end portionof the top and side walls of the cartons.

9. In a sealing apparatus of the character described, the combination ofa conveyor for cartons, a tank for containing a liquid sealing medium, awall disposed in laterally adjacent relation to said conveyor, said wallbeing formed in the side thereof adjacent to said conveyor with ashallow recess having bottom and end walls and an open side, which openside is adapted to be passed over and sub- .stantially closed by the endwalls of the car- 7 tons traveling on said conveyor, means for directinga flow of the sealing medium from said tank to said recess, a pair ofoppositely inclinedpipes communicatingwithsaidtank and suitably locatedto direct jets of sealing medium against an end portion of the top andside walls of the cartons, and a guide strip located opposite thedischarge ends of said pipes adapted to be slidingly engaged by the topwalls of the cartons and to limit the Width of the film of sealingmaterial applied to said top Walls by said pipes.

10. In a sealing apparatus of the character described, the combinationof a conveyor for cartons, a main tank for containing a liquid sealingmedium mounted above and crosswise of said conveyor, auxiliary tanksdisposed on opposite sides of said conveyor, respectively, flow pipesconnecting said main tank with said auxiliary tanks, the inner wall ofeach of said auxiliary tanks being formed in the side thereof adjacentto said conveyor with a shallow recess having bottom and end walls andan open side, which open side is adapted to be passed over andsubstantially closed by the end Walls of cartons traveling on saidconveyor, a ledge on each of said Walls belowsaid recess, a strip oneach of said walls above said recess, said ledges and strips overlappingthe end portions of the bottom and top walls of the cartons as the endwalls of the latter travel across the open sides of said recesses, apair of oppositely inclined pipes on each side of said conveyorcommunicating with said main tank and suitably located to direct jets ofsealing medium against the end portions of the top and side walls of thecartons, and a sump underlying said conveyor adapted to receive thesurplus discharge from said recesses and said pipes.

JOSEPH WV. FAY.

